The debate, streamed online from Ham’s home turf, lasted for more than two hours and included full open statements, 30-minute presentations from each side, and a Q&A section over evolution vs. creation. Thousands of online viewers tuned into livestreams of the event; at one point, the debate surged as a trending topic on Twitter.

“I take this business very seriously,” Nye told MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell following the debate. “If we raise a generation of students who does not know and appreciate the process of science–let alone the facts of science–then we’re in trouble.”

Watch more highlights from the debate and Nye’s interview with O’Donnell.

Bill Nye’s debate victory lap

Bill Nye “The Science Guy” went to the Creation Museum to debate “is creation a viable model of origins in today’s modern scientific era?” After the debate, Bill Nye came to the Last Word to discuss his faceoff with the founder of the Creation Museum,…